Entrepreneur: Robert Bob Fredrick Clifford - Case Study Example

Entrepreneur: Robert “Bob” Fredrick Clifford Name Institution Date Dr. Robert “Bob” Frederick Clifford represents one of the most popular entrepreneurs in Australia. Clifford was born in Tasmania, Australia. Currently, Clifford lives in Surrey, England. He is much celebrated as a shipbuilder, businessman, and entrepreneur. The business activity that has made Clifford so much celebrated as an entrepreneur is his Incat catamaran building company which was founded in Australia but has become one of the most celebrated global brands selling wave piercing catamaran ferries around the globe, including ferry operators in Europe and the United States military. Much of Clifford earlier days were spent as a fisherman. Clifford had a strong passion for fishing. This passion was later to be translated into boat building operation. He adopted the idea of fast commuter ferries as his foundational business venture. The business became very successful in Australia thus establishing a strong foundation which enabled Clifford expand his business into the global arena where he has become one of the leading manufacturers of high-speed catamaran ferries. When Clifford started selling catamaran in 1977, he encountered significant challenges – challenges that would dampen a person’s efforts. According to Clifford, the attempt to sell his first catamaran was unsuccessful (Mather 2016). He indicated that the authorities he tried to sell the catamaran to at that time did not like it at all. However, the situation is completely different today because many users of Incat ferries like it. The habour authorities that declined to but Clifford’s catamarans in 1977 are the ones placing orders for them today. The reason they have an opportunity to buy these catamarans is that Clifford did not give up even after their refusal to buy them in 1977. Mather (2016) indicates that Incat is currently manufacturing six commuter catamarans for Sydney Harbour. Clifford’s Company was awarded this supply job after winning a tender by the NSW Government. It is important to note that the tender was very competitive because it had attracted bids from different companies around the world. Clifford’s earlier days were not always a success. In fact, he had experienced several failures before becoming one of the biggest success stories in Australia. For example, Clifford says that he failed many subjects in school, including the subject that would eventually become his main revenue-earner – woodwork. His father was a butcher. According to Clifford, he did not receive much help from his father during his early years (Mather 2016). However, he gave Clifford direction in life when he bought a fishing vessel which they could both use in fishing. Together, they also built several fishing boats. This represents one of the areas from which Clifford developed his passion for sea vessels. The 1975 collapse of the Tasmanian Bridge became the catalyst for the soaring good fortune for Clifford’s business. At that time, Clifford owned five boats which were used to transport people across River Derwent. This operation continued for a period of two year with the five boats having transported more than nine million people over the period of the two years. In addition to boats, Cliffords had a hotel which also boosted the business to a significant extent. The business has blossomed over the years under the care of Clifford and his family. In the recent past, Incat has supplied ferries to one of the Japanese ferry operators (85 metres) and River Thames in London (35 metres). Incat’s supplies around the world continue to increase. Work-in-progress represents a 1000-passenger ferry which is being manufactured for Denmark. The construction of this ferry has forced the company to expand its operation. According to Clifford, more and more new orders continue to be received from the European ferry operators which may make the company expand its current workforce of 350 employees (Mather, 2016). Therefore, Clifford’s venture continues to be one of the most attractive business ventures not only in Australia but also in other countries and continents around the world. This shows that Incat has continued to gain competitive advantage over its competitors. Clifford’s Characteristics Mather further observes that despite having been approaching elderly, Clifford is still full of ambition. Ambition represents one of the strongest characteristics of Clifford because it has been the foundation of his development. Ambition entails one using his or her energies to achieve life goals (Runge 2014). It is a basic life force and viewed as a complex process and trait in human beings. Most entrepreneurs who have been successful in life must possess ambition. It is an ingredient for successful business ventures. Other characteristics of Clifford which have been identified in this paper include self-confidence, dedication, and determination. These characteristics are well brought out by the fact that Clifford did not give up even after his failure to make his first catamaran. His self-confidence and determination enabled him to keep on pushing until he started making sales. Process of Opportunity Recognition and Idea Development Clifford has a very unique way of recognising opportunities and developing his ideas. As indicated earlier in the paper, in his early years, Clifford was a fisherman. He had established his life around the business on the waters. Initially, he depended on fishing. During his fishing expeditions, he realised that there was another greater opportunity and the one he could use to develop himself even further. His thinking was wide because he did not start with a boat which was too common but he targeted the higher authorities. At the time, the habours were very troubled. Hobart, especially, was considered to be Australia’s most hectic habour (Mather, 2014). Clifford seems to have realised this and thought out about a solution that would help address this problem. This may explain why Clifford’s first catamaran was targeted at the authorities controlling this hobour. One of the characteristics of the most successful entrepreneurs is identification of an opportunity and developing it into an idea. For Clifford, the opportunity was the hectic hobour; therefore, Clifford sougth to utilize this opportunity to come up with an idea of constructing a catamaran. From this idea came one of the world’s most popular catamaran-manufacturer. Type of Business Developed and Competitiveness Clifford ventured into the business of manufacturing catamarans in 1977 by launching his first high-speed catamaran at Prine of Wales Bay in Tasmania. His company has since then developed such that, today, it manufactures 98-metre and 112-meter catamarans. These catamarans represent one of the Australia’s best industrial success stories of the 20th and 21st centuries. The 1990s represent the years in which the economy of Tasmania was experiencing a downward trend. However, Clifford’s catamaran seemed the only thing that was providing hope to this ailing state. Operators spread across Europe have purchased more than twenty catamarans. However, the major customer of these catamarans is the United States military. The success of Clifford’s catamarans rests on the fact that they hold more than 40 percent share market in terms of the world’s high speed ferries. After realizing that the market for high speed ferries has dropped, Incat ventured into the production of catamaran freight vessels. In addition, Incat continues to make designs which are even longer, up to 150 metre long. Over the recent years, Clifford’s catamarans have continued to break records from the Atlantic Ocean crossing. In addition, these catamarans have won Clifford many design awards. Clifford is not keen on protecting his intellectual rights. Rather, he prefers to stay ahead of his competitors by engaging himself in savvy technological advances. Some of the awards that Clifford has won as a result of his business include the 1988’s Tasmanian of the Year, an honorary degree from the University of Tasmania, and the Officer of the Order of Australia in 1995. This shows that Clifford continues to display his ambition despite his advancement in age. He continues to expand his business. By 2016, Incat had a total of 350 employees. Despite employing such a considerable workforce, Clifford is the only ship’s captain in the company. Therefore, he is the ones tasked with the job of moving these vessels. Clifford has transformed his business into a family business. He has employed all his three children to manage different areas of the company. However, he remains the managing director of the company. Suggestions Nevertheless, Clifford should consider diversifying his business. There are several reasons for this suggestion. First, the market for ferries may reach saturation in future. Therefore, it is not advisable for the company to remain over-reliant one ferry manufacturing alone. One of the type of businesses that could match well with the current Clifford’s ferry manufacturing business in hotel and accommodation business. Revisiting their history, the Cliffords had a hotel which was doing very well and contributed towards the success of their business. However, it is not advisable for Clifford to consider selling his business because that was his initial business and one that represents his ambition. Furthermore, the business of manufacturing ferries has not reached saturation as the company continues receiving new orders. In addition, the business has some high profile clients such as the U.S. military and several governments around the world. References Runge, W., 2014. Technology Entrepreneurship: A Treatise on Entrepreneurs and Entrepreneurship for and in Technology Ventures. Vol 2 (Vol. 2). KIT Scientific Publishing. Mather, A. 2016. How Bob Clifford became the captain of a global fleet. Available at http://www.themercury.com.au/news/tasmania/how-bob-clifford-became-the-captain-of-a-global-fleet/news-story/5377f9a2673ae0672123d992d784fe4c Read More